


Night

by edibna



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, Spider-Man: Homecoming (2017)
Genre: Cuddles, Fluff, Gen, Iron Dad, Maybe some spoilers, Nightmares, Peter Needs a Hug, Peter gets a hug, Post Infinity War, Realizations, but nothing heavy, spider son, very very brief panic attack
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-08-15
Updated: 2018-08-15
Packaged: 2019-06-27 16:24:58
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,352
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15689076
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/edibna/pseuds/edibna
Summary: Peter has had a bad dream, and he needs comfort from the one person who haunts them.





	Night

**Author's Note:**

> Guys, I am super proud of this. Like this is nothing like I have ever written before and I am so excited for you guys to read it.

It was three in the morning. 

Peter knew that if May or Mr. Stark knew he was out at this hour, they would both murder him. But not even the wrath of May or Mr. Stark combined could scare him away from his destination. In fact, Peter was sure Thanos himself couldn’t even scare him away from going to the one place he needed to be. 

Mr. Stark’s penthouse. 

Peter never knew why Mr. Stark moved back to the city. The man still had the compound still for the Avengers, but it was incredibly convenient for nights like this one, where Peter could not stay in Queens, not with his own mind.

It was a nightmare, just like many of his dreams were these days. However, this one was bad, worse than usual. It was a shame, because his day had actually not been bad at all. He and Mr. Stark had hung out with no interuptions, no drama, and no fights. It had been a good day, and those were rare, after Thanos had come.

However, Peter’s dream was far more scary than his good day had been. So, without a word, when he woke up shaking and cold, he bolted out of the window, his mask on, and went towards the one place he needed to go. 

Mr. Stark’s penthouse. 

The older man had given him a code ages ago, right when Peter had been brought back from dust. Peter never really used it, other than on days when they hung out. But this night, after seeing his mentor stabbed over and over again in his dream, Peter couldn’t help but use the code to get into the large penthouse, needing to be close to the man whose pain haunted his dreams. 

When Peter got inside, he slowly took his mask off, taking a deep breath. Everything was silent, and dark. This meant that, for once, Tony was asleep. Peter felt slightly guilty invading in his mentor’s personal space when the man was obviously getting some well needed rest. However, that slight guilt was not enough to stop him from tip-toeing into Mr. Stark’s dark room. 

Peter thanked his lucky stars that Miss. Potts was not there. It wasn’t that he didn’t like the woman, but it would have been awkward to explain why he had come in the middle of the night, when in reality, there was no pain, no danger, only memories of dust and wounds in his mind. 

The boy knew he had no reason to truly be there, but he could not stop himself from moving forward, needing to be near Mr. Stark.

Peter took a deep breath when he saw his mentor fast asleep, but it was not an all calming breath. In fact, Peter’s fear and hurt was being replaced by something else, something that was even more troubling. 

Peter had long since memorized the lines of his mentor’s face. It was just something he did with everyone. He loved to see smile lines and crinkly eyes. It showed age, maturity, and happiness. 

Uncle Ben always had them, and Mr. Stark did, too, on the occasion that he smiled. 

However, it was slightly disconcerting that even in sleep, Mr. Stark was frowning. It was a facial expression Peter saw more often than not these days, and there was a part of Peter that hoped he would finally get a glimpse of a relaxed Tony Stark in his sleep, but not even rest was enough to curb the worries of his mentor. 

Peter supposed he understood why. Mr. Stark had been through things Peter could never imagine. Just one flip through a biography could confirm that. In fact, it was a miracle Mr. Stark was alive at all, considering the danger the man had been in. 

Peter’s dream flashed through his eyes, and the young boy sank to the floor soundlessly. What if he had come back and Mr. Stark was gone? What if he had died a long time ago and never had met him? If it had not been for Dr. Strange and trading the time stone, Mr. Stark wouldn’t be there in that very moment. 

Visions of the moment of Titan when Mr. Stark was stabbed flickered to life and Peter leaned his head against the side of Mr. Stark’s bed to try to curb them. He could hear his mentors steady breaths, as well as, if he strained, the steady heartbeat of the man next to him. That was calming, but not nearly enough to stop the past from resurfacing. 

A sob echoed through the room, and it took Peter a minute to tell that it came from him. Was he crying? He probably was. In fact, he might have been crying this entire time. 

Apparently, whatever sounds he was making was enough to wake his mentor out of his sleep. Peter heard the shuffling before Mr. Stark was fully aware, and he looked up, through teary eyes at Mr. Stark’s eyes opened, focusing on him. 

“Peter?” Mr. Stark said, almost as if Peter was a dream. Maybe dust. Sometimes Peter still felt like dust.

“I’m… sorry, Mr. Stark. I’m sorry.” Peter said. 

“Kid?” Mr. Stark asked. He slowly reached out and cupped Peter’s cheek, and it occured to the teenager that maybe Mr. Stark had thought he had been dreaming. 

“I’m here.” Peter said. “I’m really here, but I know I shouldn’t be. I’m sorry.” 

Peter and Mr. Stark looked at each other, for a long moment. Peter wondered if he was able to convey he had a nightmare to his mentor without words, because he felt as if words were failing him in that moment, as they did, when his pain was too much.

The moment passed in, what felt like to Peter, years. However, it had to only be a minute. Peter was anxious, his breaths coming out fast as he gauged whether or not he would be able to explain to his mentor what exactly had happened to lead him to this point. 

Then, Mr. Stark wordlessly scooted over, and pat the bed beside him. Feeling a much younger age than he truly was, Peter jumped into bed beside his mentor, not even caring that he was in the Spider-Man suit still. Mr. Stark didn’t seem to care either. 

Mr. Stark pulled Peter into his chest, and Peter felt like their wordless conversation had gone well. Maybe, without having to say anything, they could say they needed each other, especially after being so alone for so long. He felt as if, for once, he could call Mr. Stark a father figure, because since Uncle Ben, there had been a hole in his life, his heart, and his soul. 

Maybe his mentor was there to fill it. 

Peter was lulled to sleep by the comfort of another being next to him. 

Fortunately for him, he slept until morning. When the sun was just rising, Peter awoke slowly, feeling more rested than he had in the time since Thanos attacked. 

Peter looked over at his mentor, and he could see Mr. Stark still peacefully sleeping next to him. Peter felt a smile slowly blossom onto his face when he saw the concern and worry erased from his mentor’s face. 

The evidence of that concern and worry was still there, etched in over time. Wrinkles and frown lines showed how much the man worried, and it was not a problem that could be fixed overnight, but in that moment, Mr. Stark had finally relaxed, as had Peter. 

It was strange, to accept the fact that he was a part of such a man’s life. Peter’s mentor has been his idol for so long, that it was hard for his to grasp the fact that, maybe Mr. Stark needed Peter just as much as Peter needed Mr. Stark.

Maybe things would be okay, if they did them together. Damage was done to them, with everything that had happened, but Peter realized, for the first time, that he was not alone, and maybe, they were just gonna have to do this together.

 

**Author's Note:**

> The title is inspired by the lovely classical song I was listening to while writing this. If you enjoyed, please leave a comment down below, or check out my Tumblr [here!](https://edibna.tumblr.com/)


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